#007. A Shattered World (2)
The boy glared at the golem.
"I am not like you.
I am a human who feels emotions."
Whoosh!
The flames blooming in his palm burned as red and hot as the blood flowing beneath his skin.
Whoosh! Crackle!
The flames danced violently, mirroring their master's murderous intent.
In an instant, a fiery vortex tore through the bridge's darkness and charged furiously toward its target.
Kwaaaaah──!
A mere few seconds passed.
The golem, reacting to the flames, fired another beam of light.
The whirlwind and beam collided midair, locked in a tense stalemate.
But only briefly.
The vortex, attuned to the boy's emotions, spun faster, swelling to consume the beam entirely.
With explosive force, it surged forward and devoured the golem.
Groooan──
The golem thrashed.
Though an unbreathing construct, it flailed its arms as though in pain.
Its molten body liquefied,
vaporized by the flames before it could drip.
The golem's groans dwindled.
Groooan──
When the flames vanished at last,
nothing remained.
Only scorched earth and lingering heat testified to what had occurred.
Darkness reclaimed the space.
The boy's world filled once more with the roar of torrential rain.
He stood bewildered,
unable to process what he'd just unleashed.
One truth pierced through: Niles lay dying across his lap.
"Niles. Stay awake. Stay awake."
No response.
In panic, Ray slapped Niles' cheek.
Slap!
"...You... crazy bastard... Already dying here... Ugh!"
Niles spat a mouthful of blood, straining to lift his head.
When he saw the gaping hole in his chest and Ray's knee visible through it, he laughed hollowly.
"Done for... Not 'maybe'... This is it..."
"Niles! You can't die! You can't!"
The cracks in his heart ceased spreading.
The fractures clung together, suturing his burst emotions shut.
Perhaps an instinctive judgment from his mind and body -
survival grows harder the more emotions rule you,
a lesson carved deep in his psyche.
Amid fading sorrow and fear,
the boy shook Niles' body.
"Don't die. Please."
"Stop... shaking me... you brat... Doing this... on purpose..."
Niles' breath came in ragged bursts,
but fear didn't color it.
Death was familiar company to those born in the gutters.
He'd always expected an unremarkable end -
just not today.
"Cough!"
Blood flowed endlessly.
His blurring consciousness signaled life's final moments.
Any regrets?
Not really.
He'd thrashed relentlessly against life's spiderweb constraints.
For gutter-born trash,
he'd lived fully - experienced much, achieved enough.
Those above might scoff,
but he'd been content.
Yet sometimes he wondered:
What if he'd started struggling sooner?
If he'd fought like this boy years ago?
Would his life have shaped differently?
"Hey."
"Don't speak. I'll get medicine from the car─"
Thud!
Niles seized Ray's arm with inhuman strength,
his grip belying impending death.
"You... leave this place... Find better..."
"Go upstream... Don't... get swept..."
The sentence died unfinished.
Niles' head dropped, silent forever.
In his half-pulled hand - car keys and a note.
────!
As his emotions sealed shut again,
Ray screamed.
Rage and grief -
the first emotions the world taught him.
──────!
His cries drowned in rain and river's roar.
Tears merged with rainwater,
flowing into the river's current.
Thus the boy's feelings were erased once more,
blurred by the uncaring world.
Swoooosh──
The night ended with black rain over slums.
Sunlight stabbed Ray's eyelids awake.
"......"
Under the bridge.
Aching muscles and the collapsed tent confirmed last night's reality.
Turning, he saw Niles' corpse on the ground.
It had been harder than imagined -
dragging a dead adult under the bridge alone.
Exhaustion had claimed him while trying to arrange Pale and the others' bodies.
Reckless, really.
Hector's scouts could've found him.
But last night's toll had been too great.
Outside, sunlight glared harshly -
the rain had stopped recently.
Silence suggested no enemy movement during the storm.
His mind returned to its usual numbness,
as if last night's emotions were a dream.
Yet something differed.
Traces remained - fear, hesitation, excitement, confusion -
craters in his psyche.
...And rage. Sorrow.
Their craters dwarfed all others combined.
Focusing, he could faintly sense each emotion -
especially those two, blazing clear.
Proof of his humanity.
"......"
Summoning flames through anger:
Whoosh.
Smaller than yesterday's conflagration,
but larger than usual.
His hypothesis held - emotion fueled magic's strength.
A headache struck from prolonged emotional strain.
Disengaging, the feelings vanished like lies.
"......"
Like flipping switches.
Ray gazed at the corpses.
'No time for proper rites.'
With the black rain ceased,
enemies likely infested 17th Street.
He moved immediately.
Squelch─ Squelch─
Washing his bloodstained raincoat in the river,
he climbed the bank toward 17th Street.
Hector and the golem's master would die tonight.
Debts must be paid -
whether through gratitude or vengeance.
Even if not fatal,
enough damage to uphold the iron rule.
Tap─ Tap─
His footsteps quickened.
At the district's outskirts,
charred buildings and scattered corpses greeted him.
"Damn. What hell is this?"
"Help here! Henry's missing!"
Survivors cleared debris as Hector's thugs patrolled.
"Hey kid─!"
Ray moved faster than the shout.
Darting into the thug's guard,
blue electricity crackled as he gripped the man's throat.
Zzzap─!
"G-g-gurk!"
Thud!
Other thugs turned.
"Shit! What the─?"
"That the brat? The one who raided the warehouse with a stun gun?"
"Grab him! Boss wants all kids rounded up!"
Knives flashed as they charged,
wary of hidden weapons.
Zap! Crackle!
Thud! Thud!
All fell within ten seconds.
Ray's veins pulsed with crimson mana -
anger's color.
Instinctive body-enhancement magic.
Imagining "strength",
red mana answered, transforming through will.
Thud.
Muscles twitched endlessly,
his body feather-light.
Traversing 17th Street,
yesterday's fury reignited fully.
Tonight, revenge might actually be possible.
"What's happening─?"
"Ray? Is that Ray?"
He pushed past startled residents.
"Enemy here─!"
Zap!
Thud!
Dispatching foes, he reached the central plaza's alley.
─"How handle this?"
─"Follow the plan. No panicking. We're winning anyway."
Peering from the alley,
he spotted Hector directing subordinates.
Crack.
Every nerve focused on Hector.
Gripping his knife,
red mana pooled beneath his feet, primed to explode.
"Kid. Let's talk."
Bang!
Ray pivoted, foot stomping like detonating dynamite.
Bullet-fast, he closed the distance,
knife slashing for the throat without hesitation.
Swish──!
"Tch!"
Humphrey twisted aside.
A shallow cut sprayed blood from his neck.
"Damn...!"
A moment slower would've meant death.
Clap!
Palming his wound,
Humphrey leapt back.
Ray pressed instantly,
giving no breathing room.
"Calm down─!"
Swish! Slash!
Humphrey contorted to evade,
new wounds blooming across his body.
"What...?!"
Their eyes met.
Goosebumps erupted across Humphrey's skin -
bestial eyes filled only with lethal intent.
Swish! Slash!
No wild swings -
every strike targeted vital points with lethal precision.
'Impossible...! He wasn't this skilled!'
As a street orphan,
Ray had been manageable before.
Now?
Fight seriously or die.
Humphrey bit down.
Analyzing while enduring shallow cuts:
Good instincts,
but inexperienced.
Time to exploit.
Thwack!
"Grk!"
Humphrey deliberately took a shoulder hit,
grabbing Ray's arm mid-strike.
Crunch!
Slammed bodily into concrete -
one-handed, with monstrous strength.
Whump!
Ray bounced off the alley wall,
landing poised with knife ready.
"You... what are you?"
Humphrey stared bewildered at his hand.
The impact felt like slamming stone,
yet the kid stood unharmed.
Normally, that throw would've broken bones.
Enhanced durability.
Ray's magic had cushioned the blow.
Humphrey steadied his breathing.
Luckily, other thugs hadn't noticed.
"Let's calm down. Ghost of 17th Street... Ray."
"......"
Ray's eyes narrowed.
How did he know that name?
"You're more notorious than you think. Many have eyes on you."
Pointless chatter.
Ray tensed to attack again.
"Don't throw your life away for revenge. I've got an offer."
Ray froze mid-lunge.
